Well, here goes another attempt at trying to figure out the enigma that is the 2008/09 Toronto Raptors. With wins last week against the Bulls, the Kings and the Nets for their first three game win streak since opening the season 3 – 0, stopping a 7 game losing streak in which they lost 2 to the Celtics, as well as one to the Bulls, to the Pacers, the Suns, the Hawks and the Pistons, they find a way to let the Bucks, playing without Michael Redd, beat them and then they get embarrassed at home by the Magic.

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

Raptors – 107Nets – 106

With Jose Calderon back in the lineup, the Raptors needed his 17 points and 11 assists to hold off the Nets who were again lead by their solid back court of Devin Harris, who had 25 points, and 10 assists and Vince Carter who had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. This was one of the first games in a very long season that the Raptors found a way to make a couple of stops down the stretch as Devin Harris missed the winning shot at the buzzer to give the victory to the Raptors. At times the Raptors had excellent ball movement and worked the ball around with a balanced attack, but Anthony Parker was the player of the game for the Raptors with his 21 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists while Joey Graham and Jason Kapono offered some solid work off the bench adding 15 points from JG and 10 from JK. Though Chris Bosh was pretty much a non-factor in the game, Andrea Bargnani struggled with only 8 points, his lowest game total since December 29th against the Warriors, ending his streak of 10+ points per game streak at 15. Keyon Dooling, Brook Lopez and Bobby Simmons were solid for the Nets who were just outplayed a bit by the Raptors bench.

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Raptors – 85Bucks – 96

A terrible game by the Raptors who looked disinterested the whole night. Charlie Villanueva dropped 26 points and collected 13 boards as he out played a bored Chris Bosh. Andrea Bargnani scored 16 as did Jermaine O’Neal, Jose Calderon scored 7 to go with his 11 assists. Andrew Bogut and Charlie Bell combined for 24 points off of the bench while Richard Jefferson and Luke Ridnour scored a combined 32 points while the Raptors could offer little resistance to a team missing it’s go to guy with Michael Redd out. The Raptors coach offered this summation of the game “I give them credit because they outworked us”. That pretty much sums up the game.

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

Raptors – 90Magic – 113

AND it wasn’t really even that close after half time. With double – doubles from Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard, this Magic team showed how you play a team that has no desire to show up. The Magic were quite content playing Dwight Howard off Chris Bosh turning him into a jump shooter, ending the game 4 – 11 with 11 points on the game. Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus all ended the game in double figures while Jose Calderon, Joey Graham, Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh all were in double figures, but no one had more than 16. The team looked tired and gave a terrible second half performance after being down only 6 at the half.

With games coming up against the Lakers, the Hornets and the Cavaliers, the Grizzlies and the red-hot Timberwolves, this Raptors team seems to have given up at this point. Let’s hope they can find a way to play some inspired ball rather than the lack-luster effort they have shown most of the year. The issues go far beyond chemistry and bonding, there are some serious issues with the heart of this team as the players don’t seem bothered by the losses any more. That can never be a good thing.

Week 14 on the Raptors schedule offers them the opportunity to move back up towards the .500% mark and take a couple of steps back to the playoff race. With games against 2 teams within 4 wins of us at this point. After last weeks losses to the Suns, Hawks and the Pistons, the Raptors are coming off of two wins against the Bulls and the Kings as Jose Calderon and Jermaine O’Neal both return to the team, with Jermaine O’Neal coming off the bench as Andrea Bargnani has earned the starters job with his very solid play in the past month, but more on that later.

Wednesday night the Raptors are travelling to the Nets to complete the season series which the Nets hold a 2 – 1 edge in. Coming into the game, the Nets are 3 – 7 in their last 10 games and lost 3 of 4 games last week on a 4 game swing through the west losing to the Hornets, the Spurs and the Thunder while beating the Grizzlies. Tonight they will be looking at beginning a bit of a run up the eastern standings as they have fallen to 9th overall behind the Bucks, who the Raptors play on Friday. Vince Carter turned 32 on Monday and here is a very nice touch from a teammate – “He started his career with the Raptors, now he's technically a dinosaur." -- G Keyon Dooling joking about "old man" Vince Carter. No matter how old he gets, he seems to love playing his former team and tonight will be no different. With Devin Harris playing at a very high level, this Nets team has one of the best back court duos in the league. Vince Carter averages 21.3 points and 5 rebounds and 5 assists as the SG, while Devin Harris leads the team with 21.5 points, 3 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. I am not sure, but I would be hard pressed to find a more productive starting back court in the league right now. The Nets will put Ryan Anderson, Bobby Simmons, and Brooks Lopez on the floor as well which should offer the Raptors the opportunity to work the ball inside against the smaller Nets front line with Yi Jianlian out of the lineup. The Raptors will have to find a way to slow this back court down to give them the opportunity to work the ball to Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh who will present many challenges to this young front court and with JO off the bench, the balanced front court attack we offer needs to be augmented by solid back court play from Jose and Anthony Parker as well as their backups Roko Ukic and Jason Kapono or Will Solomon. To me the X-factor in the game tonight will be Jamario Moon on Bobby Simmons. If Jamario can win that battle all night, we have a very good chance of keeping this game in our control.

Friday night, the Michael Redd – less Bucks come to Toronto as they begin the next phase of the season without their leading scorer. Last week they beat the Mavericks and the Kings, but lost to the Trail Blazers and the Hawks and the suddenly hot Timberwolves. Tonight they visit the Pacers before we play them. With Andre Bogut still listed as doubtful, this team has lost 33 points and 13 rebounds a game so guys like Richard Jefferson, Charlie Billanueva, Luke Ridnour, Ramon Sessions and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will have to step up every part of their game if they are to remain in the hunt as a playoff team in the east. Sitting in 8th place in the east right now with the Nets, Knicks, Bobcats who beat the Lakers in a thriller Tuesday night and the Bulls as well as the Raptors within 4 wins, they will be hard pressed to stay there if this team doesn’t find a way to elevate their games. The Raptors will be looking to take the game straight at this team from the guards moving the ball up tempo to take advantage of our quicker big men. This game will show us if the Raptors have figured out how to beat teams that they should and beat them when they are weakened. I look forward to seeing what all these losses have taught this Raptors team as they prepare for a very tough week next week.

I feel I must write a small bit about the play of Andrea Bargnani today. Since Jermaine O’Neal went down December 29th against the Warriors and the team started the huge slide downward, we have seen Andrea raise his game to a level we had been promised, and perhaps go beyond them. During the Warriors game on the 29th, he scored 7 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. As a starter since then, he has played 15 games, scored 318 points or 21.2 points per game, grabbed 19 offensive boards and 81 defensive for an average of 6.7 rebounds per game and has recorded 2 double doubles as well as 4 games with 8 or more rebounds. He recorded 5 blocks in the game against the Nuggets on December 31st. Over those 15 games he has shot 111/223 from the floor or 49.8% including 50% from beyond the arc at 36/72. His only game he failed to make a 3 point shot was against the Hawks and we lost by 3. He was drafted ahead of LeMarcus Aldridge, Adam Morrison, Tyrus Thomas, Sheldon Williams, Brandon Roy, Randy Foye, Rudy Gay and a kid named Rajon Rondo who few thought would be where he is, but playing with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce on the Celtics will make you pretty good. Expectations were very high for him as Bryan Colangello presented him to the Raptors fans as a 3 or 4 year project to grow with. I guess he saw his chance to show some of the skills he has developed here and has finally earned his place as a starter on this team. Well done Andrea, for the work, I would have to him the Raptors player of the month.

I know we are all focused on 2010 when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh become free agents and the rumours that are swirling around with that, but what about next years class? looking over the list i see a lot of pieces that many teams would love to have, so, the question is do you think this season's batch of free agents will be pretty much ignored or will there be a flurry of trades and deals to secure some of these guys before 2010 which, in my opinion, is really a three team race right now.

As 2008 came to a close, the Raptors struggled losing their last 3 games of the year to the Trail Blazers, the Warriors and the Nuggets. With a 12 – 20 record, they were looking for a new year that could offer hope that indeed had a team that could be competitive every game. As the year began, they picked up a huge win over the Rockets which brought them into this past week and games with teams they felt were beatable. Here is how I saw the past week in Raptorsland.

On a day where Jermaine O’Neal and Jose Calderon were both out with injuries, the Raptors were lead from inspired back court play by Will Solomon and Roko Ukic who were both needing and wanting the opportunity to show they can play well at this level. Dwight Howard led the Magic with 39 points while Andrea Bargnani started at Center for the third straight game. With 18 points and 5 rebounds, he played a solid game and looked very comfortable with his new role in the low post as he was still able to stretch Howard out to a place he was unable to be effective defensively and as a result of the extra room, Chris Bosh was able to collect 23 points and 11 rebounds in the game. Rashard Lewis scored 20 on 6 for 6 from 3 point range while adding 9 assists. The big step up of the game was Anthony Parker who has struggled all season with not only his defense, but his shot has been very suspect as his confidence has waned. Sunday, he scored 26 points on 13 – 16 shooting taking 0 3 point shots with many coming off drives as the interior defense of the Magic was stretched. Ending the game +6 on points in the paint against a tough Magic team was a large part of why they were able to carry the play down the stretch. Back to our point guards who both played excellent games. Will Solomon scored 11 points and added 4 assists, but committed only 2 turnovers in the game. Roko Ukic scored 12 points and had 7 assists while committing 2 turnovers as well. 23 points and 11 assists from the guards who both showed that they belong in this league and should allow Jose Calderon to take the time he needs to heal his ailing hamstring. Jamario Moon added 9 assists as the Raptors shot 53.5% from the field and were +8 for total rebounds while committing only 10 turnovers.

The Bucks were lead by Michael Redd and Charlie Villanueva who scored 35 and 25 points in a game they needed to win coming off of losses to the Bobcats and the Rockets, this team looked to extend it’s lead on the Raptors who are still in the race for that 8th playoff spot in the east, so any chance they can get to extend that is welcomed, and they took advantage of a Raptors team that has struggled in close games this season. Down the stretch, the Raptors went 0 – 5 while the Bucks hit shot after shot lead by Luke Ridnour who hit a huge 3 point shot over Chris Bosh after the Raptors had extended the lead to 4 at 95 – 91 with 2:52 left in the 4th. Ridnour added 2 more before Charlie Bell tied the game at 97. The Raptors then missed their next 5 shots while the Bucks pulled away. The game was a tough loss on the road but the signs are there that this Raptors team is moving the right way. The Bucks played without Andrew Bogut and Malik Allen while the Raptors were still without Jermaine O’Neal and Jose Calderon. Ramon Sessions added 11 points off the bench for the Bucks. The Raptors were led by Chris Bosh with 31 points and 11 rebounds, Andrea Bargnani with 21 points and 8 rebounds and Will Solomon matched his career high 11 assists with 4 points and only 2 turnovers starting again. Roko Ukic added 11 points and only 1 assist. 16 turnovers turned into 23 points as the Bucks were +9 in that category and were +5 in offensive rebounds. Jason Kapono looked and played bad with 5 turnovers which seemed to occur at critical points of the game.

After dealing Hassan Adams to the Clippers in the afternoon, the Raptors faced the Wizards with only 9 players as both Jermaine O’Neal and Jose Calderon were both at home trying to find a TSN2 feed to watch the game and Jamario Moon was in Alabama awaiting the birth of his daughter. The Wizards came into the game with a 7 – 26 record and last in the Eastern conference, but coming off a week in which they beat the high-flying Cavaliers and the Rockets. With no Gilbert Arenas, this team has struggled all year and like the Raptors, have had an early season coaching change. Led by Antawn Jamison with 32 points and 7 rebounds and Caron Butler with 15 points, the Wizards had trouble controlling the Raptors shooters as they ended the game shooting 54.5% for the game while the Wizards could not find many answers. Though the Wizards were able to be +4 on second chance points and +3 on the offensive glass, the Raptors were hot from outside ending the game 8 – 16 from 3 point range and +9 on the game. This was a game we were supposed to win, and a much better effort from the team as our very short bench contributed 22 points. Mike James and Andray Blatche were solid for the Wizards while Andrea Bargnani poured in 25 points and gathered 4 rebounds in one of his best games this season as Chris Bosh struggled with 18 points but added 8 rebounds and 6 assists to his solid game. Anthony Parker added another solid game with 15 points and 7 rebounds and 2 assists while Will Solomon starting again for Jose chipped in 14 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Jason Kapono had a strong game off the bench with 12 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. Jake Voskuhl added 5 rebounds and 1 assist to the mix.

The Raptors ran out to an early 13 point lead only to once again give it all back in the third quarter as Rudy Gay scored 22 points in the game but was shut down in the 4th quarter. Memphis came into the game having lost 11 of 12, but did pick up a win last week against the Mavericks while losing to the Nets and Timberwolves. Hakim Warrick scored 18 off the bench while O.J. Mayo, a leading contender for Rookie of the Year, scored 11 on a tough shooting day as he went 4 – 14 on the night. Marc Gasol added 9 points and 5 rebounds for the struggling Grizzlies who are now 2 – 15 on the road. Chris Bosh scored his 10th 30+ game of the season finishing with a double double with 32 points and 10 rebounds on the night. Andrea Bargnani continued his inspired play with 21 points and 8 rebounds as he out played the smaller front line the Grizzlies threw at him. With 64 points from our front line of Bosh, Bargnani and Jason Kapono who added 11 off the bench, the Grizzlies were only able to answer with 31 from their front of Gasol, Warrick and Darrell Arthur. Will Solomon had a steady game with 10 points and 9 assists and 3 turnovers. The first half had the bad Raptors show up with 8 rebounds which allowed the Grizzlies to keep the game close after closing the score in the second quarter. With only 5 in the second, they were able to pull away and put this team away and were able to sit both Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani with about 4 minutes left in the game giving the bench some valuable minutes to put the game away. They responded with 31 points as a group and were a huge reason why this game ended early for the Grizzlies. With 10 points from Jake Voskuhl and Kris Humphries and 6 assists for Kapono, these guys pulled away in the 4th and were instrumental in maintaining the lead the team rebuilt in the 3rd.

Players of the Week –

Chris Bosh – with Jermaine O’Neal missing the entire week, Chris recorded 2 30+ games and 2 double double and averaged 26 points and 10 rebounds and 3.75 assists. He lead this team at both ends of the floor and shot nearly 60% from the floor on the week as he spent a lot of time attacking the rim and working the boards.

Andrea Bargnani – As he continues to make starts as this teams Center, he continues to flourish with his solid inside play combined with excellent outside shooting making him a very tough player to matchup with for most opponents. Making 14 3points shots over the week, he opened up the interior all week so Bosh could make use of the open floor.

Will Solomon – Starting for Jose Calderon, Will was able to use the opportunity to have consistent minutes to elevate his game to a level most expected him to perform at. His week ended with him averaging 9.75 points, 7.25 assists on 2.25 turnovers and 1.5 rebounds per week. Combined with Roko Ukic, the two gave us 16.75 points and 10.25 assists per game. Solid play by both, but Will was the leader as he played the bulk of the minutes and controlled the floor and got the ball where it needed to be and was able to push the tempo when he could. This was his best week as a Raptors player by far and very a timely display of the skill we were waiting to see.

Honorable mentions – Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon and Jason Kapono all played solid this week and at times were stellar performers. Parkers 14 points per game were critical as were Moon’s nearly 7 rebounds per game. He isn’t scoring as we would like, but his defense has picked up and I am sure his offense will return. Jason had a couple of good games and a couple of bad games, but he is working hard and it will pay itself off soon as he finds his stroke again.

With a back to back with the Celtics followed by games against the Bulls and the Pacers with the Suns and the Hawks early next week, this was a much needed week for the Raptors and, who knows, the Celtics look vulnerable right now and an inspired game by the Raptors could bring some positive results for this team.

Week 11 begins tonight with a game against the 16 – 19 Bucks, currently in 8th place one place ahead of the Raptors for the last playoff spot in the East. In the past 10 games, they have won six including wins over the Spurs, the Jazz and the Knicks, split games with the Bobcats and have lost to the Rockets, the Pistons and the 76ers. Following this on Wednesday, the Wizards complete a short 2 game road trip with neither Jose Calderon nor Jermaine O’Neal traveling with the team. The Wizards are struggling for consistency as well and are a dismal 7 – 25, yet were able to defeat the Cavaliers who have gone 2 – 2 this past week splitting games with the Heat and defeating the Rockets before losing last night to the Wizards. Friday brings the Grizzlies to town and their 11 – 23 record having lost to the Suns, the Spurs and the Timberwolves before knocking off the Mavericks Sunday. Here is how I see the week shaping up.

Monday, January 05, 2009 Raptors @ Bucks

With Andrew Bogut questionable for the game tonight and Malik Allen out, the Bucks will have a tough time up front with Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh both playing very solid games this past week. Starting Dan Gadzuric and Luc Richard Mbah a Mouteand and Richard Jefferson up front, the Bucks will have trouble with our inside game and should Jamario Moon continue to gather rebounds as he has been, the Bucks will be forced to beat us with Michael Redd and Luke Ridenour. Not entirely out of the question and the Raptors will have to be sure to keep the defensive pressure on as Will Solomon, Roko Ukic and Anthony Parker look to continue the guard play that has been solid this past week. Jason Kapono is set to have a big game and he should find lots of room to shoot, as the Bucks send a smaller line up to the court.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009 Raptors @ Wizards

The Wizards start Antawn Jamison and Andray Blatche with no real Center as Caron Butler fills the other forward position. This should give the Raptors the edge inside as Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh will look to put pressure on the interior of the Wizards all night long. With Gilbert Arenas and DeShawn Stevenson hurt, the Wizards have been starting 4 forwards with Dominic McGuire filling the 4th forward position and Mike James running the point. Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon should be able to control this lineup with speed and help defense as Will and Roko should be able to control this game from start to finish. I can’t see the Wizards winning unless the Raptors fall asleep as the Cavaliers did.

Friday, January 09, 2009 Raptors vs. Grizzlies

The Grizzlies bring Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo and Kyle Lowry to the game with Darrell Arthur as well as Hakim Warrick. The Raptors had best be paying attention as this team could take advantage of any attitude that might develop should they win the first two games this week. I think they will be ready after a short road trip and looking to prepare for the back to back with the Celtics on Sunday and Monday. I am confident that Coach Triano won’t let this team drift away this week.

I will do both here as they will be hard to separate in the course of the weekend. The Celtics have been inconsistent the past 10 games winning only 6 losing to the Lakers on Christmas day then the Warriors on the 26th. Since then, they have lost to the Trail Blazers and the Knicks but are still comfortable with a 29 – 6 record and still 1st overall in the east, but second over all in the league just behind the Lakers. With Kevin Garnett playing as well as he ever has and the surging play of Rajon Rondo, this Celtics team offers depth and skill to about 10 players with Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Leon Powe, Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis and Tony Allen leading the way. The Raptors will need to be at the top of their game but will be looking to steal one of these games and I think they might be ready to do it at this point. The Raptors have looked more confident with a lead than at any other point this season so I look for 2 very good games.

Next week brings us the Bulls, the Pacers and the Suns as this team heads to the all-star break looking to get back to or above %.500. That would be a very good recovery from what looked like a dismal season not 2 weeks ago.

As we come to the end of the 2007-2008 NBA season, I have begun to think about the “worst” teams in the league and their prospects for next year. I hope to begin a discussion about how these teams might fair next season as I evaluate their rosters and possible draft picks as well as coaching changes.

A look at the Heat depth chart reveals a huge injury issue with this team that struggled with a consistent rotation all season. They ended the season with Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Udonis Haslem, Dorell Wright and Alonzo Mourning all on the injury list. As a group they lost 168 games to injury creating a huge hole in every position except point guard where Jason Williams was the leading player in games played at 67. The only player on the roster to play in 82 games this season was Ricky Davis, and he is an unrestricted free agent after this season averaging a little more than 3 points a game below his career average.

So here is what I see by position with the Heat.

At Center they have a huge hole after trading away Shaq and not really having a true backup with Mourning hopefully retiring and the options being small centers at best. Earl Barron at 7’ 0” but only 245 pounds is too small to play a consistent role as a back to the hoop center and found himself behind Mark Blount who probably should be a PF not a Center.

I think the biggest problem areas they have right now are in the SF and C positions. With no assurance that Ricky Davis will return, the are very thin with Stephane Lasme and Dorell Wright. If they can find a free agent Center along the lines of a Jamaal Magloire, the starting rotation would become very solid in every position. With Shawn Marion entering his option year, I suspect the heat will look to re-sign, but with Carlos Boozer a restricted free agent, one can only imagine what this team would look like with him in the front court. Or perhaps they will pursue a SF to replace Ricky and a guy like Ira Newble would look good in this lineup.

Miami will have a difficult off-season as they wait to see how their free agent situation pans out and how they recover from their many serious injuries. I sure hope that Dwyane will come back 100% next year and not suffer through a partially healed shoulder again.

The Clippers hope they won't have to go back to square one this summer, but two major obstacles lie in the way -- securing the organization's future with forwards Elton Brand and Corey Maggette.
Both players are eligible to opt out of the final year of their respective contracts. In the case of Brand, he is due to make $16.44 million in 2008-09. Maggette is on the books for $7 million.
The possibility of this team losing BOTH franchise quality players would devastate this fragile franchise next season.

Here is another team that suffered huge losses due to injuries with Elton Brand recovering from Achillies tendon damage and C Chris Kaman missing 26 games this season as well while having a career season which took 13 points a game off the board while leaving them Paul Davis at Center, which can’t be a good thing.

Assuming that both Brand and Maggette back, here is the starting 5 for this team:

With the 7th pick they are projected to take either a SF in Danilo Gallinari from Italy, or Russell Westbrook, a SG from UCLA. We see that either of these would be chosen on the assumption of losing either Brand or Maggette. With Brevin Knight at backup PG and Al Thornton at backup SF those positions are solid and any additions would create a very good level of depth as Knight matures. Nick Fazekis is a free agent (restricted) and could be a good addition to any trade they might attempt this off-season.

IF the Clippers can solidify the Mobley Maggette issue, they could be a more consistent team unless injuries hit them again taking out Kaman and Livingston after a quick start and Brand only playing 8 games.

Knicks – Coach – Mike D’Antoni

Here is an organization in total disarray with no focus for the past 2 seasons while it seemed all news was about the coach Isaiah Thomas and the media frenzy that has surrounded him since he almost destroyed the Raptors.

Bringing in Mike D’Antoni instantly commits this team to an offense that will be explosive and exciting. And as we have seen, they will win a lot of games! The question becomes how long will it take the team to clean out the dead wood and bring in some consistent players. With Stephon Marbury able to opt out this off – season, Nate Robinson would probably become the starting PG but at 5’ 9”, he would be seriously out matched against most PG’s on a nightly basis. With the 6th overall pick, they are projected to get either Eric Gordon, a 6’ 2” PG/SG from Indiana or O.J. Mayo, 6’ 5” From USC. I bet Mike would love to get his hands on O.J. but Eric Gordon would fit well also playing either an SG or a PG position and O.J. would make a great PG replacement for the well-worn Marbury who seems to have run his course in New York. If the Grizz take the projected top C in the draft, then O. J. could fall to number 6 and the Knicks. If, as has been rumoured, LeBron James were to show up in 2010, this team would be set to run and score a lot of points!

I am assuming that Marbury gets no offers and walks away to sign a free agent contract with someone like the Nets, wouldn’t him and Vince Carter look great whining together! Mike has a lot of work to do but has a lot of role players that the top teams would love to have on their bench and could get a few young players to develop in anticipation of 2010.

This team will still need a pass first guard and I suspect the Knicks will make the deal that will bring someone like Dee Brown to the team. Imagine that trio of guards in the Knicks back-court – O.J., Jamal, and Dee Brown. Very solid young running players, the kind of backcourt D’Antoni loves. Not sure anyone can run the O like Steve Nash did, but he would love to have Dee Brown’s energy and shooting. I suspect this team won’t lose 59 games next year.

Timberwolves – Coach – Randy Wittman

This young team has some young, talented players in Randy Foye, Corey Brewer, and Al Jefferson. A new coach and an off-season to blend this team that lost Kevin Garnett but has some young budding Stars on it will help them become respectable on a night to night basis. With the 3rd overall draft pick they are projected to get Brook Lopez. A 7’0” center from Stanford which would allow Al Jefferson to move to PF and become a very tough matchup against most western conference teams.

With a new coach and a new system, this team will have challenges, but trading Antoine Walker for say a Jamaal Magloire would give this team a solid Center and allow the kid to grow a bit before starting. This team will struggle the first half of the year I suspect as the front court finds its structure and roles. This team could have a +.500% second half.

Grizzlies - Coach – Marc Iavaroni

Here is a team that lost its star player in Pau Gasol, its PG in Damon Stoudemire and is in recovery mode. With Rudy Gay coming into his own, this team is very thin up front. Darko Milicic and Hakim Warrick do not inspire much fear in any team in this league and together offer up 18 ppg. That is not good enough to win more than 25 games at any level of basketball. This team needs help up front and would find it in the 5th over all pick with either Kevin Love of UCLA or Brook Lopez if the T’Wolves pass on him. Either would be a good fit with Rudy Gay and take pressure off the back court to score 50 points a game to win! Even picking up Anthony Randolph would be a great pick as he would provide a rebounding presence up front.

I will work with the Grizz getting Kevin Love to replace the motion that Pau Gasol took with him for the starting 5.

Who knows, maybe someone will want Kwame Brown and make a deal for him and they pick up a true center. I am sure the Grizz are hoping that Lopez falls to #5 for them. This team will struggle next season as they recover from the loss of Gasol. The future looks better than next year as they need a mobile Center who can score. There aren’t many around at this point. I see a few deals being made to shore up the front court and give Rudy some help.

Bucks – Coach – Scott Skiles

This team should have won a lot more games this past season with Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut and Mo Williams and Charlie Villanueva, this team had injury issues and suffered through a very tough season. A new coach will bring a defensive energy to this team that will refocus them and allow the front court to provide the interior game that is potentially available. Mo Williams and Michael Redd offer a solid back court and with Ramon Sessions able to play either effectively, this team is solid on the back court. With the 8th overall pick, the Bucks should be able to land a solid SF prospect in Anthony Randolph or perhaps a Joe Alexander who would both provide a nice 3rd option up front and provide the Bucks a threat in the SF position. Projected by some to take Danilo Gallinari who has been compare to Hedo Turkoglu in talent and play sense.

This team has solid players and strong backups in the guard positions. It will need to strengthen the front court behind Charlie and Bogut to become solid with a bench that can compete as the falloff is too great. I suspect this team could make a couple minor deals to strengthen the bench with a vet or two.

SuperSonics – Coach – P. J. Carlisimo

Kevin Durant leads this team that struggled with youth at times. P.J. has little to work with beyond KD and Nick Collison. Luke Ridinour has spots of brilliance, but seems to be content with being in the NBA most nights. With no real Center, this team will need to shore up the middle to allow Durant the room he will need to patrol the paint and attack the rim. If they can do that, he could become a 25+ ppg player very easily.

With the 4th pick overall, the Sonics are projected to take PG Jarryd Bayless who can probably start at either back court spots. What they still will need is some power up front. Maybe they will sign someone like Jamaal Magloire to help, but unless they find a true center, this team will struggle a lot next season.